Long-lasting nail polish: Consumer Reports

05/13/2014 03:23 PM

05/13/2014 07:02 PM

Long-lasting nail polish: Consumer Reports (Consumer Reports)

A beautiful manicure is a great finishing touch to your look. But it loses its glamor when it starts to chip. Consumer Reports tested seven nail polishes, including several that claim to last a long time.

(Consumer Reports) - A beautiful manicure is a great finishing touch to your look. But it loses its glamor when it starts to chip.

Consumer Reports tested seven nail polishes, including several that claim to last a long time.

All were applied with a base and top coat if the brand had one.

Ten panelists tried the polishes at home, while ten panelists received a series of professional manicures. Those were checked at 7, 10 and 14 days.

The Chanel Le Vernis polish is the most expensive tested at $27 for the color plus another $52 for the base and top coat. But it chipped so quickly, most of the home panelists removed it early.

Which are the hands-down favorites? Surprisingly, a $2 polish available at Walgreens called Sinful Colors came out on top. And the base and top coat together are just $8.

The polish still looked good after seven days, but it took slightly longer to dry than others.

Another winning polish is the $10 CND Vinylux Weekly Polish lived up to its name and still looked good after a week.

It doesn’t need a base coat, and the top coat is $10.

Also a favorite, the $6 Revlon Colarstay polish promises to last 11 days, and still looked okay when checked on day ten. The base and top coat cost $13.

If you want a quick manicure and don’t have time for the whole base coat, top coat routine, Consumer Reports found some one-step polishes that looked pretty good at the end of a week.